Arent&Pyke’s Rigg Design 2018 installation was recognised for excellence in contemporary design practice, reflecting the newly vibrant design culture of Australia.

Arent&Pyke installation, entitled ‘Home: Feast, Bathe, Rest’ explores what they consider to be the essential functions of a contemporary domestic interior. To replenish (feast); restore (bathe); and retreat (rest). They response is a conceptual interior where the focus is on conjuring the emotions of these spaces. The NGV’s triennial Rigg Design Prize focused on interior design, and studios were asked to communicate how their practice could be embedded with societal values, ideas and stories, with the theme Domestic Living.

An aperture slices through dark green walls to reveal an opulent ochre-hued linen curtain. As it weaves through the space, the curtain drapes in small pools on pale wide floorboards of Douglas Fir. A soft spotlight falls onto a rough-hewn block of solid stone. The light catches the polished surface where the stone has been carved away to form a bowl-shaped vessel. Behind this piece is a more refined structure. The same stone has been worked to a smooth finish, its edges mitered, almost precise. A surface of brass reflects the form of a black crystal sculpture sitting quietly and powerfully on top.